Digital Public Library of America
The Digital Public Library of America brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world.
The Grammar Ninja
You are a Grammar Ninja who must find parts of speech by throwing ninja stars at words.
Read Write Think
Providing educators and students access to the highest quality practices and resources in reading and language arts instruction.
SpellZone
An online English spelling resource that includes free units, games and word lists.
Spellathon
Practice spelling with free interactive spelling games that are compatible with interactive whiteboards, mobile phones and tablet PCs.
TVOKids: Spelling Bee Game
This game plays just like a real spelling bee. Students hear the word and get one chance to spell it. They can have the word repeated and can also read a definition.
Shel Silverstein
If you love Shel Silverstein and his poetry, you need to check this out. There are two versions of the website—the high-bandwidth version is more glitzy, but they both have the same basic content. There are fun games and activities, printables and you can even watch animated videos of some of Shel’s poems. The coolest thing about the videos is that some of them are performed by Mr. Silverstein himself!
ManyThings
This website is a fantastic resource for ESL teachers and students alike. It has an extensive collection of spelling games and activities that are great for non-native speakers. My favorite is the Catch the Spelling Game.
Forvo
Forvo is the world’s largest pronunciation dictionary. It’s very valuable for ESL students because they can look up any word and hear it pronounced by an authentic English speaker.
Storybird
Storybird is a website that allows you to combine pictures and drawings to tell a story. It is very user-friendly and you can have several students all working together on the same story.
The Story Starter
This automatic generator comes up with over two billion (no joke!) creative ideas for writers. It was named to Writer’s Digest Magazine’s list of 101 Best Websites for Writers in 2012.
Creative Writing Prompts
When your students need inspiration, this site is the place to go. It features more than 300 detailed creative writing prompts, as well as journal ideas. You can also use the writing prompts as great warm-up activities each day.
Diiscovery Education’s Free Puzzlemaker**
Puzzlemaker is a tool that helps you create and print customized word searches, criss-cross puzzles, hidden message puzzles and more, all using your own word lists.
Wordle
Create beautiful word clouds from text that you provide. Like Tagxedo, it gives prominence to words that appear most frequently. You can save, print and share your creation.
Animoto
Use Animoto to easily create presentations and videos with your own images and music, or choose from a library of stock files. Teachers can apply for a free Animoto Plus account.
Bubbl.us
Use Bubbl.us to create colorful online mind maps. It’s great for class discussions and brainstorming sessions.
APPS:
Stanza This free app allows you to read digital books on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Choose from 50,000 free classic and contemporary works available from Project Gutenberg,
Bob Books Reading Magic HD This phonic-based interactive game for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad uses consistency and repetition to help beginning readers sound out simple words and learn how to spell the words they read.
My Story Students can use this iPad app to create e-books complete with drawings, photos, writing and voice. Simple tools allow children to become authors and publishers; e-books can be shared within the app or via email; they can even be uploaded to iBooks.
Grammar Up This iPhone and iPad app provides a quiz system with over 1,800 grammar questions in 20 difference categories. Older students can use the quizzes to help prepare for various tests and exams by going through categories of questions or they can simulate the test environment with random questions.
Writing Prompts This writing prompt generator app uses pictures, colors, words, genres and different types of writing to provide creative inspiration for writers and writing students. The app also includes a database of 600 creative writing prompts in the form of quotes, story openers and writing exercises that can be used to jump-start student writing projects.
Chicktionary This popular Internet word game is now available on the iPad. Players unscramble a roost full of hens (each hen represents a letter) and create as many words as possible. The iPad app supports dragging and shaking gestures to move and shuffle hens.
WEBSITES:
Digital Public Library of America
The Digital Public Library of America brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world.
Fodey
The Newspaper Clipping Generator
The Printing Press
The Newspaper, Brochure or Poster Maker
The Grammar Ninja
You are a Grammar Ninja who must find parts of speech by throwing ninja stars at words.
Read Write Think
Providing educators and students access to the highest quality practices and resources in reading and language arts instruction.
SpellZone
An online English spelling resource that includes free units, games and word lists.
Spellathon
Practice spelling with free interactive spelling games that are compatible with interactive whiteboards, mobile phones and tablet PCs.
TVOKids: Spelling Bee Game
This game plays just like a real spelling bee. Students hear the word and get one chance to spell it. They can have the word repeated and can also read a definition.
Shel Silverstein
If you love Shel Silverstein and his poetry, you need to check this out. There are two versions of the website—the high-bandwidth version is more glitzy, but they both have the same basic content. There are fun games and activities, printables and you can even watch animated videos of some of Shel’s poems. The coolest thing about the videos is that some of them are performed by Mr. Silverstein himself!
ManyThings
This website is a fantastic resource for ESL teachers and students alike. It has an extensive collection of spelling games and activities that are great for non-native speakers. My favorite is the Catch the Spelling Game.
Forvo
Forvo is the world’s largest pronunciation dictionary. It’s very valuable for ESL students because they can look up any word and hear it pronounced by an authentic English speaker.
Storybird
Storybird is a website that allows you to combine pictures and drawings to tell a story. It is very user-friendly and you can have several students all working together on the same story.
The Story Starter
This automatic generator comes up with over two billion (no joke!) creative ideas for writers. It was named to Writer’s Digest Magazine’s list of 101 Best Websites for Writers in 2012.
Creative Writing Prompts
When your students need inspiration, this site is the place to go. It features more than 300 detailed creative writing prompts, as well as journal ideas. You can also use the writing prompts as great warm-up activities each day.
Diiscovery Education’s Free Puzzlemaker**
Puzzlemaker is a tool that helps you create and print customized word searches, criss-cross puzzles, hidden message puzzles and more, all using your own word lists.
Wordle
Create beautiful word clouds from text that you provide. Like Tagxedo, it gives prominence to words that appear most frequently. You can save, print and share your creation.
Animoto
Use Animoto to easily create presentations and videos with your own images and music, or choose from a library of stock files. Teachers can apply for a free Animoto Plus account.
Bubbl.us
Use Bubbl.us to create colorful online mind maps. It’s great for class discussions and brainstorming sessions.
APPS:
Stanza This free app allows you to read digital books on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Choose from 50,000 free classic and contemporary works available from Project Gutenberg,
Bob Books Reading Magic HD This phonic-based interactive game for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad uses consistency and repetition to help beginning readers sound out simple words and learn how to spell the words they read.
My Story Students can use this iPad app to create e-books complete with drawings, photos, writing and voice. Simple tools allow children to become authors and publishers; e-books can be shared within the app or via email; they can even be uploaded to iBooks.
Grammar Up This iPhone and iPad app provides a quiz system with over 1,800 grammar questions in 20 difference categories. Older students can use the quizzes to help prepare for various tests and exams by going through categories of questions or they can simulate the test environment with random questions.
Writing Prompts This writing prompt generator app uses pictures, colors, words, genres and different types of writing to provide creative inspiration for writers and writing students. The app also includes a database of 600 creative writing prompts in the form of quotes, story openers and writing exercises that can be used to jump-start student writing projects.
Chicktionary This popular Internet word game is now available on the iPad. Players unscramble a roost full of hens (each hen represents a letter) and create as many words as possible. The iPad app supports dragging and shaking gestures to move and shuffle hens.